Bhola Shankar Review: After the blockbuster success of ‘Waltair Veeraya’ this Sankranti, Megastar Chiranjeevi returns to the big screen with his latest film bhola shankar. The film is directed by Meher Ramesh, who is making a comeback after a decade.The film released today and here are some of the highlights of the story.
Story: Bhola Shankar (Chiranjeevi) arrives in Kolkata with his sister Mahalakshmi (Keerthi Suresh), who is a talented artist. He gets her admitted to a reputed college and works as a taxi driver in the city. Their life seems peaceful until Shankar tips off the police about a gang that traffics girls to foreign countries. The gang leader, who is one of the top bosses of the mafia, targets Shankar for revenge. But Shankar does not back down and kills him. He then goes on a killing spree, eliminating the other members of the mafia. It turns out that Shankar has a bigger motive behind his actions. It also turns out that Mahalakshmi is not his real sister. So who is Shankar and what is his connection with Mahalakshmi? What brought him to Kolkata and what is his ultimate goal? The answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
Bhola Shankar Review
Narrative-Analysis: The internet revolution has brought OTTs to the forefront of entertainment. There is plenty of content to choose from if one wants to enjoy digital movies at a low cost. Audiences are not willing to watch anything and everything these days. They are looking for something new and fresh, not the same old mass masala movies that have no novelty. Remake movies also lose half of their appeal because they lack originality. Even if one decides to remake a movie, it should have some unique point and some changes to suit our culture and taste. It should also have some extra attractions to draw the audience. Pawan Kalyan tried this with movies like Pink, Bheemla Nayak, Bro. Chiranjeevi’s ‘Godfather’ also followed this approach to some extent. But none of these movies got a completely satisfying result. This shows how the audience is indifferent towards remakes. In this scenario, ‘Bhola Shankar’ picked an old and routine mass movie called ‘Vedalam’ and made it even worse as ‘Bhola Shankar’.
From the beginning of the movie ‘Bhola Shankar’, there is nothing positive to see. Even the die-hard fans are wondering why a remake and why a movie like ‘Vedalam’. And why Meher Ramesh, who has not made a movie for ten years and who is known for disasters like Shakti and Shadow, is directing it. All the promos that came out from this movie looked like troll material and failed to create any interest in the movie. With this background, anyone who comes to the theaters has very low expectations. In such situations, even a mediocre movie would be acceptable. But ‘Bhola Shankar’ disappoints even those who have no expectations. Meher Ramesh filled the movie with such outdated stuff that it feels like watching a spoof movie. Be it a scene, a dialogue, a fight, or a song, Meher Ramesh did not show any sign of newness or creativity anywhere and maintained the outdated feel throughout the movie.
A hero introduction scene that follows a template that has been used for decades: A problem arises in an area full of people, then a comedian gives an intro about the hero, then the hero enters and saves the day, then everyone praises him, then the music starts. As soon as ‘Bhola Shankar’ starts with this style, we understand that we are going to watch an outdated movie. A comedy track where the comedian acts innocent in front of his wife is also something that we have seen in many Telugu movies. It is not surprising that even a comedian like Vennela Kishore, who gets a small opportunity, could not make us laugh with this track. Acting innocent in front of the hero, then showing a fierce look, then revealing that he has come there with a purpose, then a flashback, this setup is also something that we have seen since ‘Basha’. Even if the story is routine, if the scenes are shot with some tension, if the hero’s character has some intensity, if the emotions are worked out well, then we can adjust to some extent. But one after another huge action episodes and elevation scenes come and go without exciting even the smallest fans.
Meher Ramesh dragged the scenes so casually that he made us predict the scenes and dialogues in advance. Even though ‘Vedalam’ is an average mass movie, it had some elevation scenes and twists that worked well. Especially the scene where the hero shows his other side is a highlight. Fans would be entertained by his shocks to the villains. But even those scenes were not properly executed by Meher Ramesh in Telugu. He made even the effective scenes in Tamil look dull here. Ajith is no match for Chiru as an actor. If Chiru could not show even half of the intensity that Ajith showed, it is a failure of the director, not Chiru. Except for one sentimental scene in the second half, there is no intensity anywhere in the movie. Meher Ramesh directed the movie in such a routine way that he made us feel like watching a spoof movie.
Actors: Chiranjeevi is perhaps one of the most handsome heroes in the Indian film industry at the age of 67. He still looks fit and charming. He danced with energy and fought with vigor. But the movie did not utilize his potential at all. He showed his trademark comedy timing in some places. He also acted well in the emotional scenes. But he looked ordinary in the outdated scenes. Chiru’s attempt to imitate Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Khushi’ waistline scene was a flop. Even the mega fans may not like it. It was a mistake to remake a movie like this with a director like Meher. Tamanna looked beautiful as the heroine. Keerthy Suresh did a good job as Chiru’s sister. She did not have any flaw. Tarun Arora as the villain was routine. Vennela Kishore and Sreemukhi’s comedy did not work much. Murali Sharma, Tulsi, Getup Seenu and others were normal.
Technical Category: ‘Bhola Shankar’ proves that one movie can make a difference for everyone involved. Mahati Swara Sagar, who impressed with his music in movies like Chalo and Bheeshma and upheld his father’s name, could not make use of the ‘mega’ opportunity that came with Chiru. None of the songs were catchy or memorable. They were bland. The background music was also routine. He could not match Anirudh Ravichander’s elevation in the original movie. He could not enhance the action scenes. Dudley’s cinematography was okay. Production values were good. What can we say about Meher Ramesh? He could have taken ‘Vedalam’ as it is and he would have got some appreciation. But he made an already routine mass movie into a ‘cringe’ fest. He showed no talent as a director.
Finally: Bhola Shankar… old remake pickle
